Cinderella Wolf
by Black Gray and White
Summary: Luna Barker: a teenage girl with troubles of life and when she hears news that becomes too much, she seeks a way out through suicide and but wakes up in a new life.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**

_This is a story I wasn't sure on writing incase it wouldn't be accepted. But Blind Deaf helped and encouraged me to write this so here is my story. This is my first story ever so please go easy on me. I assure you it's an A&O fic. This is just an introduction and I worked hard on this! Thank you, Blind! I hope you don't depart from this site!_

* * *

**Not Meant For This Life**

Sliding down in the seat of her dad's car, Luna sleepily watched the passing homes through her window through her dark brown eyes. Getting a ride to school was always a boring part of her morning routine. She kept earmuff headphones over her head so she didn't have to exchange words with her dad. It wasn't like he was going to talk to each other anyway. Ever since her mom died from cancer two years ago, it has been just her and her father; only it made things more quieter. Luna happened to very attached to her mother since birth and now it felt like she was living with a stranger. Though they were all they had now. Only too much alike to talk to each other; both quiet and hard talkers. In the end they were blood.

Pulling up to a curb, Luna and her exchanged a simple goodbye as she grabbed her backpack and slung it over one shoulder. Stepping out of the car dressed in dark black baggy sweats and large gray hoodie, she flipped her hood over long brown hair and began to walk up to the building. Luna had a beautiful face and an athletic build of her body. She wore loose clothing because she felt more comfortable in them and so guys didn't keep looking at her like she was something on display. They're all dogs, she told herself everyday on the beginning on every school day. Me... I'm a lone wolf. More stronger than them.

From moving so much with her parents, Luna never could keep too many friends. In the process of moving to Edmonton at the age of fourteen she promised herself she was done on making friends; Luna is now seventeen. She quit trying to keep up with the latest fashion, trying to be popular and got rid of her old clothes that carried pink or any color of that sort and filled her wardrobe with black, gray and white colors. The colors of a wolf.

Before the classes would start, Luna headed straight for the washroom to find it empty as she preferred it. Dropping her bag on the counter and taking off her headphones, she zipped open her bag to take out two prescription pill bottles and vitamins.

_Vyvanse 60 mg_

_Mint-Citalopram 20 mg_

Taking one one of each, she swallowed them both at once with a sip of water from a bottle in her bag.

Having Asperger Syndrome (making it difficult in social interactions) and depression, the pills were prescribed to her from her psychiatrist to help her manage with her life. On top of that, she had Hyperacusis: loud noises would crash on her eardrums and she could hear small sounds others couldn't. Her _"wolf ears_,_"_ is what she called them. So to help her out with the noise, she mostly had headphones cupped over ears playing the music of the music artists _Evancescence, Eminem, Green Day, Johnny Cash and Seether _to play and sing her feelings for her.

Many people these days truly didn't know anything about wolves and just called themselves lone wolves to sound cool. Not Luna though. She honestly believed she was more wolf than human and took it as far as she could. She studied them, researched them and filled a book of printed pictures of them in a scrap book. Luna didn't parade around her title of being a wolf because she knew what she was and that's all that mattered. The full moon... she couldn't help but stare at it every month. It was so beautiful.

Staring at herself in the mirror, two girls came in giggling and talking about something not important. Feeling like Amy Lee in the music video, Everybody's Fool as she stared at herself in the mirror, the girls dropped their voices to whispering.

_"What is she doing?" _one of the girls questioned.

_"I don't know. She's usually in here every morning doing the same thing. Staring at herself in the mirror like a weirdo."_

Seizing her bag off the side, she slipped her headphones back on and exited out of the bathroom feeling irked. No one in this school knew what it was like for her. They didn't have problems or difficulties to put up with. How she wished she didn't have to live this life. To have the life of the animal that only lived inside of her. Life span cut short to around twenty years but everyday well spent. What she hated most was the whispers behind her back and never to her face. Come on! Challenge me! Luna growled angrily in her mind.

Passing through the stream of students in her path leaning over the lockers, sitting on the floor talking with one another. Luna walked past them like she was a ghost to all of them. Sometimes when the loneliness got to her and she was forced to walk through the fray of dogs, she imagined a Gray wolf walking by her side every step of the way. Luna began to see the wolf around time the time her mom had died and to this day has not abandoned her call for someone to give her company. When she needed someone, the wolf would come. Luna never mentioned seeing the wolf to her psychiatrist because she didn't want files saying she was going crazy or being prescribed pills to have her stop seeing it.

Maybe it was an hallucination. Maybe it was all in her mind. All she knew was the wolf wasn't going to leave her no matter what. The big, gray, furry wolf was with her now. Here to help her throughout the day.

**Ω **

The day in school was long like the others but finally over. Being as her dad was at work, she avoided taking the bus home and made an eight mile walk home alone. Luna believed if a wolf can travel such a distance, so could she. Getting home to a two story home, she unlocked the front door and headed straight downstairs to her room.

Collapsing on her bed with her head buried in the pillow, hands clutched she let out a deep sigh. Life was seeming so pointless in this time. In History she learned there was a time that you just learned the basics and you're off to do what you want and live like an Omega wolf. No passport needed to see the world. Maybe one day I'll would wake up and find out this life was all just a dream, Luna thought hopefully resting her head and closing her eyes for a long sleep.

_Right after she fell asleep, Luna began to dream that she was walking through the forest, the Gray wolf by her side. She didn't know where she was going. Just to keep walking and will eventually find what she is looking for. Going deeper into the parts of the forest of the forest the sounds of wolves howling began to play into the night. Getting excited from the howls, Luna hurried up to a run with the wolf following and the howling getting louder. The howls were like a song and she had to witness the artists playing it._

_Knowing she was getting closer by the second, she would soon find the spot where the wolves were. Dream or reality, she wanted to experience the sight. Seeing a clearing ahead, she rushed up to it, hoping that this was the end of the run!_

_Ding dong!_

Jerking awake deeply annoyed of being awoken on such a promising dream, Luna lifted herself up out of bed to head upstairs a bitter mood. When she answered the door, right away she knew something bad had happened; a cop was standing at her doorstep.

"Excuse me," addressed the policeman in a soft tone. "Are you Luna? Luna Barker?"

"Oh my god, what's happened?" asked Luna worriedly, folding her arms in panic. Knowing she wan't going to hear any good news.

As the policeman explained, Luna had her eyes swelling up in tears as she shook her head not wanting to accept the hard news. Not wanting to believe the tragic news. Her father was in an accident at his work didn't even make it to the hospital. He was dead.

The policeman gently shared his sympathy and Luna couldn't take it anymore. Trying to keep herself steady, she apologized to the cop, assuring she would be okay and closed the door. Pressing her back against it, she slid down onto the floor, her teeth biting down on her knuckles to keep herself from screaming. Glancing to her side, she saw the wolf with it's head hanging down and ears bent back like it was sharing her pain.

"I'm sorry..." Luna spoke sincerely to the wolf. "But I can't do this anymore! This life isn't going to work!"

Struggling up to her feet, Luna went downstairs to her room to retrieve her backpack. Opening it up she picked up a bottle of sleeping pills and slowly stepped to the bathroom. Closing and locking the door, Luna sat at the edge of the bathtub twirling the pills in her fingers wondering if this what she really wanted. The last closest person who could understand her was now gone. The future will have no peace or help for her in this type of world. What hope was there.

Luna looked up to find the wolf was in the bathroom with her, staring at her as if waiting to see her decision. Opening the bottle, Luna let every pill slip out onto the palm of her hand.

"Maybe I'll wake up and find out this life was all just a dream..."

Luna brought the mouthful of pills to her mouth and took them all one by one. The wolf whined with it's ears bent back. Luna placed her hood over head and she whispered her last words.

"I'm sorry."


	2. Western Menace

**Western Menace**

_"Miss Barker?"_

_Hammering on the door occur ed for a few seconds before the man's voice called again._

_"Miss Barker!"_

_With no reply coming from Luna, the door was suddenly kicked open and a man and woman entered dressing dark blue Paramedic uniforms. They both took a knee at one of her sides. _

_"Miss Barker?" spoke the man. "Miss Barker can you hear my voice? OK, she's not responding."_

_"She's cold," observed the woman as she felt Luna's hand. "Grab the back board..."_

_"OK... Got it," the man said, retrieving the back board and gently placed her on it. "Ready? On three: One, Two, Three!"_

_"Let's move."_

**Ω **

Luna's body felt warm all over as she laid curled up into a tight ball with her eyes shut tight. The memories of the policeman telling the news of her father and her attempted suicide was fresh in her mind. Was it all a dream? The surface under her didn't feel like the familiar cold tiles of her bathroom, instead it felt like her old warm bed. Am I going to open my eyes and find that my day hasn't started yet, Luna wondered. I really hate those dreams. Especially when it turns into a nightmare.

The sound of birds chirping made her eyes open to find herself looking through a large hole in dirt and grass, trees and a blue sky in the distance. Lifting herself up with what she thought she was her arms, she was in for another surprise. Looking down at what was supposed to be her arms was actually furry gray legs and paws. Screaming out in shock, she jumped and backed up into the wall. Bringing a paw up to her eyes, she touched her chest, felt her muzzle, pointed ears, moved her tongue around sharp teeth and lastly looked behind herself to see a tail. Flicking it up and down on the ground for a moment, unable to believe this was real. Though this didn't feel like a regular dream of being a wolf. Luna could smell everything around her: the dirt, the trees and the grass but her hearing seemed to remain at it's usual level.

"No..." said Luna, violently shaking her head, still finding this all hard to believe. Being a wolf was a wish that was never to come true because reality broke her dreams. Something would wake her up out of this if she started to like this and bring her back to her normal and boring life. Then again... Whose to say this wasn't real? Something, somewhere was giving her what she wanted. Luna wasn't a very religious girl because she didn't want to be hoodwinked in the end and find what she believed in was a lie. Preferred to live in the moment as much as she could when happy.

Either way this was the most best experience of having the eyes of a wolf. Luna had to enjoy this while she could. Mind shut out to her old life, Luna took a step forward with a paw and steadily began moving the others. Before she knew it, she was moving like she was born a wolf.

When Luna got the ability locked down, the control to contain herself in a walk was something she couldn't do. Breaking into a wild run, Luna rushed through the maze of trees, hopped over a log while her paws thundered across the cool morning grass. Adrenaline pumping in her body, she kept running on for an unknown amount of time until she came to the edge of a high cliff. At the edge the sight of pine trees stood high and proud, mountains in standing strong in the distance and beyond with the promise of adventure and more.

"So beautiful..." Luna spoke with sincerity in her voice as she sat down drinking in more of the gorgeous view. Just how long was this all permitted though? The belief of this all being a strong dream was haunting her thoughts but something else told her that this may last.

What was there to do now in case this was indeed something that she would wake from? The ideas were endless. One thing she really wanted to do was let out a long howl but Luna wanted to save it. If this wolf has became her new reality, then she would howl when it was dark. Till then Luna would go out and try and find some fun in this wolf life.

**Ω **

Thoughts of her old life was already beginning to leave Luna's mind as she lost herself running through the forest, chasing squirrels and taking a swim in a river. It was bad memories to begin with and she didn't want to even think about them. In fact she also lost track of the time.

Letting the current take her down a short distance, Luna took a few moments of relaxing before climbing out of the river. Going down a waterfall? Not today. Luna smiled a little at the joke she made to herself. About to depart from the body of water, Luna forgot one thing that she wanted to do: see her reflection. Slowly edging herself back to the water, Luna's paws met the edge and eyes, the reflection: her blue eyes still the color of a blue sky, the fur around her face was colored dark gray and her hair almost appeared the same only it was a deeper color of gray; almost black.

"I hope it all stays this way," Luna said to herself, turning away from the reflection. This life felt like a gift. A true treat. A priceless treasure.

As time passed, Luna found a new ray of fun. Carefully creeping through long grass feeling like a true hunting wolf, Luna kept herself as low as possible as she spied upon a herd of deer. Almost being ineffectual on keeping in a little snickering of the surprise she was planning, Luna bit her lip and crept on. A normal person wouldn't be able to get so close to a deer without spooking them. So as a wolf she was going to give them one heck of a surprise.

Becoming more and more near to her _prey_, Luna just five feet from one of them. Kind of feeling like she was pressing her luck on how close she was to them and at the high point of being riled up, Luna jumped.

"BOO!" she yelled out loudly.

A weird high pitched sound came out from the deer that Luna didn't expect but didn't crash on her ears gladly. Then the herd started to take off in a run which Luna couldn't help but decide to keep the fun going and chasing them for a little while. Little did she suspect though, there were others in the tall grass too and they weren't there to play. Three wolves came racing past her, giving her mean looks as they passed.

"What's wrong with you?" snarled one of the males as he ran past her.

"What?" Luna asked nervously, coming to a halt and watching the wolves continue to chase the herd of deer. "Oh! Oops..." she had just figured it out. Those wolves were on a hunt and she ruined it for them. From the guilt building up inside of her, Luna resumed to run after them hoping maybe she could help in some way.

Sprinting as fast as her body would permit her, the chase went on for about about a mile or two before and Luna kept her distance from the ones in the chase. Still she felt like she had to help out in some way. But the group of deer was faster than they looked and the shots of jumping it didn't seem to slow any of them down. Later the pursuit was over and the hunt was spoiled. And the hungry wolves weren't happy. Growling in anger, the group of wolves turned away from the wrecked hunt and spotted Luna standing there in shame. Before she could get a chance to explain or apologize for her mistake they suddenly turned their attention on her.

"That stupid wolf ruined our hunt!" shouted the small-sized male wolf.

Luna felt her ears bent back instinctively and tail tucked in, hoping this was a good enough sign of submission (she wasn't a coward, but hated conflict. Only fought is she had to or was pushed too far). Seeing one female tan wolf looking at her with a determined look rather than angry and marching towards her, stating for her to stay put in a commanding voice.

"Uh..."

Luna knew she wrecked the hunt but being told to do something by a stranger wasn't in her nature. In school when called down to the office, she ignored it because answering the call made her feel like a common dog, so the teachers had to make her go. Luna honestly admitted her mistakes when she made them and would pay a fair price. But never liked it when someone tried to control her.

Not trusting the look in her eye either, Luna abruptly jerked back around and resumed to run.

"HEY!" shouted the female wolf.

Thankful that she didn't give the chasing in the hunt her all because it looked to be that the wolves had just made her the new target. Taking up a different route on a getaway, Luna shot straight into the trees. Checking her back every ten seconds, she started to slow up as she couldn't see anyone chasing her now. Turning her head back in relief, Luna came to face to face with the tan wolf.

"Oh, come on!" exclaimed Luna annoyed, turning back around.

The tan wolf jumped right in front of her.

"I don't think so!" she growled.

This wolf is like the Terminator, Luna thought angrily. Thinking fast, Luna pretended to try and get past her on her right side but took the left. It worked! Moving fast and beginning to pant in exhaustion. She had been taking so much time to having her own time of fun, her body was now worn out. I got to keep going, Luna deemed, slowing up in her tracks. Eyes becoming heavy, Luna forced her eyes open and checked her back again. The tan wolf was advancing close to her now.

"Damn."


	3. Lies

**Lies**

Feeling a warm surface underneath her, Luna opened her eyes with her surroundings being a wide den. Did the wolves bring her here? Didn't seem like something in a wolf's nature. Then again, Luna made a mistake. They probably wanted something out of her for it.

"I say we take the meat we could have scored off from the deer off of this wolf," growled a deep, mean voice.

Luna's eyes widened and froze becoming as still as a statue. Shifting her eyes to the direction of the voice. Two wolves were sitting outside of the den. One dark gray and was rather small and the other was taller and fur colored dark blue.

"Would you seriously eat another wolf?" asked the dark blue wolf. "Think before you answer that- Actually don't answer that. I don't want to know."

Frankly Luna didn't want to know either. Silently rolling onto her stomach, Luna tried to not make any noises that would reach their ears. Maybe the two were stationed at the front to guard me, thought Luna. Whatever the wolves had planned for her, Luna wasn't in the least bit interested. She wanted to get out and in order to do that, she would have to sneak past the two wolves. Easy or tough, she had to try. Still being a wolf meant there was still a world out there for the taking. Thinking it would be better that she didn't get up but crawled out, she would have better chance of not alerting any unwanted attention.

Shuffling her paws ever so gently, she began inching forward as slow as a turtle. Hoping that nothing on this earth would make the wolves turn their heads for any reason, Luna was now right behind the two and was just feet from their tails. Inching away bit by bit, she finally got to a distance where she felt safe enough to get up on her feet and start walking properly. Smiling to herself of how cunning she was to the wolves, Luna made off into the fores and up the hills. Checking over her shoulder every now and then to be sure that no one was following her. She felt safe to breathe as the past couple of minutes, not one bark or howl was made.

Just as the coast appeared clear, something was making a loud noise; something fast. What is that sound, Luna wondered, looking all around and see nothing. It was coming closer!

"Heads up!" a voice shouted warningly.

Luna whipped around. Her eyes widened again from seeing a bunch of wolves sliding down the on a broken log. About to rush out of the way it became too late and was caught in front of the line of wolves.

"Welcome aboard!" shouted the gray wolf behind Luna. "Let me off!" she screamed. "Seriously! Let me off!"

"Turn right the log right!" exclaimed the wolf.

"What?"

"Turn the log right!" he repeated urgently. "Now!"

Luna looked ahead and saw what he meant because they were soon to crash in front of a tree! Gripping the sides of the log, she swung the log in the right direction. Narrowly missing the tree in time, Luna was forced to listen to every command on how to guide the log down the hill. It was all going pretty well until the log came skidding down to the bottom. All the wolves were laughing hysterically. Surprisingly she found herself laughing too.

"Wow, that was the first safe ending we had," cried the wolf, hopping off the log and going up to Luna. "You're a natural!|

"Thanks! That was actually fun!" laughed Luna.

"Glad you liked it" the wolf laughed along with her. "Hey, what's your name? I'm Humphrey."

"It's Luna," she replied, turning to leave. "And it was great meeting you."

"What? Where you going?" asked one of the wolves.

"Uh ..." Luna felt her ears swivel back. "I got a family up in the north and they're going to be worried about me if I don't return home soon ... uh..."

"There she is!" exclaimed a familiar voice. All heads turned seeing the two wolves that were guarding Luna. Going to sprint off, Luna turned and froze right in front of the female golden wolf that chased her from before. "Going somewhere?"

Luna decided it best not to answer. Instead she was nervously shifting her paws, thinking of giving running another shot.

"You try to run again and you won't just wear out like last time," growled one of the wolves behind her.

Luna turned her head at the runt-sized wolf. "Thank you," she said spitefully.

"Kate, what's going on?" asked Humphrey.

"Your new friend cost us the dinner for tonight. Decided to spook the deer for fun" explained the golden wolf who appeared to be addressed as 'Kate'. "There isn't enough to go around with just Garth's hunt!

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cost your pack dinner. I'll just be leaving now."

"You're not going anywhere," stated Kate. "Not until I hear the reason on what you're doing here. Now are there any other wolves here with you?"

"No," answered Luna, feeling impatient already. "Can I go now?"

"No. What were you doing here in the first place? What pack are you from?"

"I'm a loner and was just passing through. Seriously I have to go." Every minute talking to her is wasting my time of living free and who knows how long it is, Luna though heatedly.

"What's the rush?" she questioned.

"I have a life."

"Then you can stay for the night."

"Why?" barked Luna furiously. "I'm not lying!"

"That's exactly why: because I think you're lying to me. You're pretty young anyway. I'm sure you won't be dying of old age anytime soon. If no trouble happens tonight, you can be on your way tomorrow morning. Till then enjoy your stay," Kate moved past her. "Candu. Hutch. Make sure our guest gets back safely."

Humphrey gave Luna a sorry look and went to catch up with Kate.

**Ω **

"That was weird," Humphrey said as he walked beside Kate.

"What was?" replied Kate.

"Before you questioned her she told me she had a family up in the North that she had to get back to."

Kate curtly nodded.

"So she did lie to me. She is way too young to be a lone wolf after all."

"What do you think she's hiding?" asked Humphrey.

"I don't know but if someone comes looking for her, we'll just point them in her direction and they can be on their way."

"You think she's a bad wolf?"

"I just want to make sure we're not going to have someone looking for her and have us dealing with a problem that's not ours," explaine Kate. "Why do you ask?"

"I think she's lying to herself."


	4. Humphrey's Helping Paw

**Humphrey's Helping Paw**

"You guys are worse than ticks!"

Being placed under direct supervision had Luna angry with the two wolves, Candu and Hutch. Whenever she took a step, the wolves were always one behind. Trying to explain that she wasn't going to run off again didn't do any good. They ignored her every word kept walking behind her. Probably because they knew Luna was lying and was planning to run off if the opportunity came. So to kill time she found herself walking as far as she could before the wolves informed her she was getting out of bounds and was forced to turn around. It felt like being back in Elementary school. Only the supervisors here are complete jerks.

Deep down Luna wanted to go and try to have fun with them. The wolves following her around though was making her prideful. If she tried to play it may just feel more embarrassing because of Candu and Hutch. They would have to keep an eye on her while she did and that had her believe she may as well be a pup if that's how it was going to be. So she ignored the temptation.

"This isn't exactly fun for us either, toots," responded Candu sourly to Luna's angry statement. ""You've been complaining ever since you came back here!"

"And whose fault is that?" said Luna, rolling her eyes. Thinking of that wolf named Kate.

"Yours," Hutch said right away.

"No it's not!" snapped Luna. "It's that wolf's fault! Kate's!"

"Whatever you say. You're still staying."

_Luna_ growled at the words, "whatever you say." It really made her feel like she lost the argument when someone said that.

After growing extremely irritated at the presence of the wolves, Luna decided to try and pull an old trick out of the book. Hoping it would work, she stopped walking, turned to the wolves and said, "I need to go."

"You are ordered to stay here until -"

"Not that go. I meant I have to _go_."

The two brought Luna over to a nearby area where she could go. Going into the area and behind a bush, there was one problem; they still had their eyes on her.

"I can't go when someone is watching!" Candu and Hutch both turned around but Luna wasn't accepting that. "I don't trust you. You'll look. Perverts!"

Both looking greatly offended, they walked a fair distance away giving Luna the perfect oppurtunity to sneak away again. Knowing there was not much time as before, she began racing through the trees. Not looking back this time, Luna kept running and running. She was captivated enough as a human. There was no way she was going to lead the same way as a wolf. That Kate was nothing but an uptight jerk. No one bosses me around. Not anymore.

A loud howl suddenly rang out from behind followed by barks. They now knew that they had been tricked. Determined to not be caught this time, Luna chose to hide rather than to try and outrun the wolves. That plan however was messed up. While making her escape, her paws suddenly became trapped.

_Squish!_

Looking down at her paws, she saw the reason why she wasn't being able to run anymore. She had become trapped in a patch of thick mud. Struggling to pry a paw out, her paw eventually became free only to have it stuck again. The wolves after were going to be here any moment and the process of getting her paws free and stuck again was becoming more elaborate and frustrating! Knowing that big trouble was going to happen, Luna barked out curse words as kept trying to get free.

"Need some help?"

Luna shot her head up: the wolf, Humphrey was standing before her with a paw extended out to her. Accepting the offer in a heartbeat, she nodded.

"Brace yourself," Humphrey warned.

Luna gritted her teeth and closed her eyes as he opened his jaws wide and bit down on her mane. After a few painful tugs, Humphrey managed to pull her free from the mud.

"Talk about a love bite," joked Humphrey, as Luna rubbed the back of her neck.

"Yeah, thanks," said Luna, getting ready to sprint off. "Catch ya later."

"Hold on!" said Humphrey, getting in front of her. "You won't be able to outrun them!"

"Unless you have a solution, get out of my way!"

"Follow me," said Humphrey, running off.

Noticing that he was going a different direction that she was planning to go. The choice to follow the seemingly nice wolf or get caught for the third time was easily made. Following right behind Humphrey, he led her far up the hill where they supposedly met.

Swearing to herself that if she was going to be double crossed and lived through it, she would pay him back. Humphrey motioned over to a hollow tree log.

"You can hide in there until everyone thinks you're long gone."

"Thank you," responded Luna, hastily moving inside the log and curling up tight.

Once safely inside the log, she heard Humphrey jump on top of it and lay down. Why is he staying with me, wondered Luna. He then revealed why.

"So... Is Luna your real name or was that another lie?"

"Why does it matter to you? I'll be out of here real soon," replied Luna hollowly.

"And slip into more trouble on the way," returned Humphrey. "Where's your real home?"

"I told you I'm a lone wolf. The entire forest is my home."

"No. What you told me was that you have a family up in the North," Humphrey chuckled. "You're a terrible liar."

Luna decided not to reply to that. Laying her head down, she closed her eyes to try and wait out the wolf's search. Surrendering to her tired state, she fell asleep on her dirty paws. Hoping that when she woke up, her life as a wolf would resume... After finding something to eat! That was surely going to be a problem.

**Ω**

The sky was near dark, the forest was quiet and the search had been called off. Humphrey was a better liar for whenever someone asked if he had seen Luna, he would quickly point them a different direction than reveal her hiding place. When the heat died down, it was time to let her know it was safe.

"You can come out now, Luna."

Humphrey got up and walked to the edge of the log to peek inside. And there she was sleeping in a curled up ball. Just like Kate, she looked very pretty when she sleeps. Not so much on fire now. What was she hiding from everyone though? Did lone wolves even have secrets? A little voice in his head told him they sure can because when he was one for a very short time, his secret was he loved Kate. What was Luna hiding then? Running from someone or herself?

A guilty expression came over his face. Kate was right: Luna is too young to be a lone wolf or even a hunter. If he let her go she may indeed run into more trouble. Trouble that won't be so easy on her. She would eventually be killed.

"I'm sorry Luna," breathed Humphrey, hopping off the log and to go find Kate. "I don't know who's going to be more mad at me: Kate for hiding a runaway or Luna for betraying her trust... Probably Kate."

**Ω**

Blinking open her eyes, Luna yawned and walked out of the log and underneath the dark sky to stretch.

"Good evening, Luna," greeted Humphrey from behind her.

Luna turned around as she spoke, "Thanks a lot for - selling me out!"

Sitting on top of the log was none other than Kate with Humphrey on the ground beside her. What? Not even wolves can be trusted? Backing up slowly, Kate put a paw over her face and shook her head.

"Please don't try to run again," she said boringly. "We're all getting tired of chasing you."

"I'm tired of it too!" exclaimed Luna.

"We just want to talk to you," assured Humphrey.

"I'm not talking to her!" said Luna, motioning towards Kate and then faced Humphrey. "Or you for that matter! You betrayed me!"

"She's the Alpha of the pack," explained Humphrey calmly. "You have to talk to her."

"No! If I have to talk to someone I want to talk to the male Alpha and guess what? I'm not going back there so you can have him bring his butt up here!" Luna sat herself down to show she was not budging. Kate smirked as Humphrey laughed softly. This was doing nothing to help Luna's patience.

"I'm the male Alpha," said Humphrey. Luna's jaw dropped. "You? You're mates?"

"That's right," nodded Humphrey. "You have to talk to one of us."

Having trouble believing this fact since Humphrey already lied to her once and Kate was just a stuck wolf; Luna started to inch away from them.

"Luna. We're trying to help you," said Kate quickly.

Luna vigorously shook her head. They wanted her to crack! Tell them where she came from and if she did that, she just knew she would spill out the rest. Definitely nothing in detail but would break down and cry in front of them. Appearing weak.

"If you want to help me, leave me alone!" cried Luna, running off.

In a flash, Kate chased and pounced on top of her. It then became a struggle for a moment until Kate got her pinned down on her back. There was no escaping now but that didn't stop Luna from trying.

"Luna, we have a large pack to run and we can't have someone we don't know running around," Humphrey explained, over her constant thrashing. "We need to know who you are and where you came from."

"And the truth!" stated Kate.

Ceasing in her desperate attempts to get Kate off, Luna let her head drop to the ground. Her eyes going watery... Why did she have to have tears going now? Why?

"Kate ... get off of her. I don't think she's going anywhere now."


	5. Raining Howl

**Raining Howl**

Submerged deep underwater, eyes closed and holding her breath for as long as her body would permit her. It was the only quiet place Luna could be. If there was one thing she missed about being human it was being able to sit on her her bed and play music through her headphones. The best she could do for herself was break the songs up and play them in her mind before she had to resurface and talk to the Kate and Humphrey. Upon seeing her crying, they had been kind of enough to allow her a break before she was to talk to them.

Anymore time in the water, Luna would be in risk of drowning. She climbed out of the lake, not making eye contact with neither Kate or Humphrey, she shook herself dry. For a moment, Luna wondered what would it be like to run again. She immediately squashed on that idea. Too much had occurred today.

"You ready to talk now?" asked Humphrey, coming up to her.

Luna took a few deep breaths. Glanced at Humphrey and then chanced a look at Kate; she was staring at her. Luna shifted her eyes back.

"Can I -" she stopped for another deep breath. "Can I just talk to you? You said I have to talk to at least one of you."

"Well..." Humphrey looked over at Kate and back to Luna. "I could but everything you tell me, I have to tell Kate."

"I know. I just don't want to talk to her face to face," explained Luna quietly. Having Kate see her cry felt like a huge dent in her pride because Kate was without a doubt a strong Alpha and Luna didn't like others like that seeing her hurt. There was something about Humphrey's personality that didn't make her feel as bad about crying in front of him.

"Try not to run away," said Humphrey, going over to speak to Kate.

Taking the advice, Luna stayed put and waited a moment for Humphrey to come back. When he came back, Luna saw that Humphrey had successfully gotten them a private talk.

"How do you want this to work?" began Humphrey.

"I don't know," breathed Luna.

"You have to start somewhere."

"I don't know," Luna repeated.

Humphrey sighed.

"OK, I'll start: You said that you had a family in the North but then you said you're a loner. Does this family really exist?"

Luna drooped her head low. "It used to."

"Want to tell me what happened? I promise you whatever you say will stay confidential between me, you and Kate."

The tears were starting to come back to Luna's eyes. She stepped away from Humphrey (not wanting him to see her cry a second time) and drooped her head low. There was no way Humphrey was going to buy the truth. She had to alter it.

"They died," spoke Luna, becoming more and more depressed. Fighting to keep the tears in. "It was my mom who died first; when I was younger ... and not long ago my dad died in accident. ... In my pack nobody really could help me with my hurt. So I decided to run away and become someone new. Sever the past and just become a carefree wolf with nothing to worry about. If I didn't acknowledge anyone, learn to know them or eventually grow to love them, I would have no more heartbreaks. I'm better off alone. At least I convinced myself that."

"Is that why you tried to run away all the time?" asked Humphrey. "From what I heard you were like a slippery salmon in the streams."

"Partly... I was somewhat scared that you guys were gonna eat me at first. Then it was for that reason I just told you. I actually found the log sledding really fun with you and those guys. Why did you sell me out in the first place? For some reason I actually trusted you when you helped me. I still trust you."

It was true because Luna hadn't a conversation like this with anyone for a long time. She didn't know why she was exchanging words with him. Though she promised herself not to let anyone tap the core of her heart.

"I was worried that you were gonna get yourself into more trouble," explained Humphrey. "You got a long life ahead of you. It shouldn't be cut short because you ticked off the wrong wolf or ruined another pack's hunt."

"You were actually thinking about my well being?"

"Of course."

"Why?"

"Because I'm a nicest Alpha in all of Jasper," said Humphrey.

Luna glared at him. Now there was something she didn't fully believe. About to express this thought, a loud clap of thunder interrupted her along with lightning flashing and rain coming down hard. Perfect...

"Well, I guess you're good to go!" said Humphrey loudly, over the sound of the rain splashing into the lake.

"I can go now?"

"Yeah! Don't worry I'll clear it up with Kate! Just don't be spooking anymore herbivores for fun! Also a little tip for the future: running away when told to stay put just makes you look guilty!" Humphrey turned and walked away from her. "Have a good life!"

Staring after him, Luna watched until he was fully out of sight. There was nothing left to do tonight but try and find a place to take cover and sleep. As she tried to, it was proving harder than she thought. Everywhere she tried wasn't suitable enough to stay dry. No trees with large enough branches or holes to squeeze into. For a moment, Luna considered of going back to try and find Humphrey to request to share a den with someone. Like always though, her pride stopped her. Humphrey was most likely back with Kate now. She wasn't going to ask to stay with them after trying to escape them all day!

In the end, Luna chose to get under a rock where she had to remain seated to stay out of the rain. Sleep was unnecessary anyway because she slept enough during the day. Alone and bored, Luna tried to keep her thoughts off of her former life and the conversation she had with Humphrey. She didn't want reminders of the half good and half bad day. And I was supposed to howl tonight, Luna suddenly remembered grumpily. There was no moon visible from where she was. Guess this will have to do.

Clearing her throat and taking a deep breath, Luna started howling out; the thunderstorm joining her in making what she called her own music. How long she kept it up for, Luna had no idea. All that was clear was that she totally lost herself while howling. Such a beautiful feeling. Freezing cold it was on the outside, yet inside Luna felt so warm. She felt like she could do it all night until another surprise happened this night.

"Good thing you started howling or I would have given up searching for you," Kate spoke, advancing over to Luna. Her coat was completely drenched from the falling rain.

"What do you want?" Luna enquired, surprised of her presence.

"You're going to catch your death out here. " said Kate.

"I'll be fine," replied Luna.

"Stop being stubborn for a moment and listen to me! You soaked yourself in a lake before it started raining and your coat isn't going to keep you warm tonight."

"I actually feel fine," lied Luna. Her paws were beginning to shiver.

"I know you don't like me but is disliking me worth more than your life?" demanded Kate.

"I'll be OK here."

"Luna please drop the bad wolf act! Humphrey thought you were going to follow him back to our den! Soon as he told me about the stupid hint you were supposed to take, I knew you wouldn't take it! Can you figure out what I did next?"

Staying in a den tonight did honestly sound better than sitting under a rock all night. Rather than admit she wanted to take the offer with her words, Luna gradually stepped forth and nodded her head without making eye contact to Kate.

Kate shook her head in disbelief on how this wolf could be so full of pride and stubborn.

"Come on."


End file.
